Trippilarrin Cornelius Shortmen XV
"You don't get to decide." - ''Tripp Trippilarrin Cornelius Shortmen XV was a halfling wizard that served as quartermaster aboard Captain Az Realta's ship and as part of the Waterside Company. He took part in the various adventures of the Company and worked alongside the Hallowed Assault against as number of threats to Tolas. History Born in the Halflands village of Heystone in LN710 to Edregar Fastorin Shortmen XXIII and Rosa the Finder, Trippilarrin was named for the tradition of his father’s family, the Shortmen, to bear the name of their great ancestors following the death of the fourteenth member of their family to bear that name. Raised in a village of halflings in the northern border with Telinor, the young man grew up surrounded by books and stories shared around the cosy fireplace with family, and though these tales were usually told to teach or warn the young children about the dangers of other parts of the world, to leave the fighting to the brave men of Hoffendale or to avoid the briar patches that marked the territories of the elven druids, Tripp heard these stories and dreamed of what lay beyond their tiny town. As though Tripp lived among the stoutfolk, those halflings that enjoy settling down and living a peaceful life, he, like his mother, was a lightfoot, a people of travel and exploration. He desired to wander, to always look over the next hill, leading his friends Sylbeth Mulilda XIV and Waltmen Parry Whitecrisp VIII on adventures to Pintmeadow where they took turns playing the brave heroes of Reute’s War. Unusually among his friends, he was an only child, so sought the company of others his age around the village or spent hours delving into books alone, traveling in his mind to far off lands. Rosa the Finder His mother too had the desire to travel, it was that very thing that had brought her to Heystone in the first place, where she met Edregar. She was seeking to compile a list of all the halfling settlements in Etan, and maybe even the world, and had been traveling up through the Halflands when she encountered the town where she would linger far longer than she intended. Heystone was the typical halfling settlement, in fact it was so typical that Rosa considered using it in the opening chapters of her travelogue to describe what a stoutfolk halfling community looks like. It was during this time of fact gathering that she met Edregar, a local story teller’s apprentice, who claimed to be the descendant of the oldest family to have lived in Heystone (though Pentatin Baltos Heyfoder XXIX would beg to differ), offering to show her around the town and introduce her to all its inhabitants. A year later they were married, and soon after that Tripp was born, and so Rosa the Finder stayed in one place for the longest she ever had as she raised her son. A few weeks after his tenth birthday, Rosa announced she was going to continue her book and travel into the forest of Telinor to explore its depths for signs of native halflings. For five years she traveled the forests, sending messages back, sometimes written and other times she made use of the mages in the capital city who were willing to use the sending spell to commune with her loved ones back home, as well as sending on drafts of her book which Edregar retold in tales of adventure and mystery to his son. On his fifteenth birthday, Rosa returned, bringing grand stories of the adventure she had had in the forests, of evidence of owl riding halfling that had fled to the Warring Woods long ago. She also gifted Tripp with books, including a spell book she was given by an elven wizard in the College of Telinor, Win’ya Sarduun, an apprentice of the Cultural Considerations sub-school of the Divination School, whom she traveled with for sometime. The Taste of Magic With his spellbook and stories of adventure in the forests, Tripp began to to dream of becoming a powerful wizard like Win’ya and began practicing the cantrips within. He shared his plans with his family, who encouraged him, though Tripp discovered that his father feared being alone without his wife or his son. Tripp decided to stay with his family as his mother wrote her book and his father told stories in the town. A few years later, came the War in the Silence. The unease and uncertainty that permeated that time led to doubts about where was safe from this strange power rising in the south. And whilst the Halflands did not suffer the great loses in that conflict that others did, the fear of missing an opportunity resolved Tripp to announce his intention to enroll in the College of Telinor, and though it was with a heavy heart Edregar said goodbye to his wife and son, Rosa intending to journey to the College with Tripp to ensure his enrollment and then to carry on east towards the Warring Wood to find the lost communities of halflings that supposedly dwelt there. Education Successful in his application, Tripp began to study the arcane in Telinor, learning the mysteries of magic and its esoteric arts. As he was only a student of the first sphere of arcane magicks, he was not yet committed to a particular school, though he had his heart set on the School of Divination, and he learned a myriad of studies; Ritualism, Dueling, Arcane Theory, History of Magic, Item Enhancement, and the Rudimentaries of Alchemy. He had begun to study the lesser arts of divination such as arithmancy, astronomy, and tarot reading, entering the School of Divination as an apprentice. It was during this time he began work on his proposed theory that gnomes do not exist. He posits, that gnomes as a species are in fact a complex and highly convincing collection of cleverly woven spells that fabricate a near perfect simulation of a living creature. Any encounter with a gnome is actually an assault upon one’s senses and mental defences to cunningly convince the viewer that they are in fact seeing a real creature, when in fact they were utilising advance enchantments and illusions to modify the memory of the viewer in real time. When questioned on a number of flaws with the theory, Tripp pointed to the use of the modify memory spell, or the ability of others to create illusions able to move, speak, produce odours, and combining such abilities with spells to simulate the texture of objects, his supervisor, Archmage Thir’duul, conceded that it was possible that such advance magic was being undertaken and at the very least this line of study could lead to avenues of detecting false arcane auras. And so Tripp began his work, beginning with his attempt to prove that you can prove that something exists in the first place, his experimentation ranging from observation, reflex tests, exposure to arcane stimuli, and water displacement. Returning Home He was in the middle of attempting to completed his Second Sphere examinations of arcane studies when the Rise of Tiamat occurred. As he was of a lower Sphere, he was not chosen to join the expedition of the College to join Ba’win alongside the Noble Alliance, remaining in Telinor to study his chosen subject. When the Queen of Dragons did emerge and the Noble Alliance fractured, Ba’win’s return saw the College further fortified and much of its teaching staff turned into militia. Tripp found there was not much room to learn in the College and after speaking with his supervisor, decided to leave the forest to see if he could help the world still reeling from the arrival of a god. He returned to the Halflands and found the town of Heystone had become a garrison town for the Hoffendale forces, he saw evidence of raids and attacks by cultists in the surrounding countryside, attempts to lure the defenders out to investigate and ambush them. His father had turned his spare rooms, including Tripp’s own, over to the men from Hoffendale, and Tripp learned that his mother had returned from the Warring Woods having sighted the palehand halflings dwelling in its shadowy depths, and had departed soon after the garrison arrived to make contact with them as soon as possible. Looking through the stories of his mother, surrounded by tallfolk in a town that had been idealised in his memories that now seemed forever changed, Tripp read of the halflings that live among the human towns around Etan. He read of the stoutfolk in Schwarzmeer’s southern district that his mother described as living wretched lives hauling filth from the lake, though his father claimed that his mother did not stay too long in that place as it was not to her liking so perhaps her perception was only surface level. Off to Adventure Tripp decided once more that he was going to leave his home to travel and learn, with his worried father’s blessing, he set off with his books including an early draft of his mother’s work, one of his mother’s daggers, his wand, and his First Sphere robes to travel the roads his mother took to get to Heystone long ago. On the roads he encountered Druza, a tribesman from the north driven by visions Tripp suspects were induced by powerful hallucinogenic and non-replicatible magic. Still, the man’s story implies the possibility of a low level prophecy involving himself and others which would be fascinating to record the accuracy of. As Tripp and this strange man traveled, with the young halfling regaling him with tales his father Edregar told him they visited the occasional halfling settlement, Tripp inquiring with the inhabitants about some of the facts or tidbits of information his mother Rosa had collected. After much travel the two men arrived in southern Schwarzmeer where they found a pub called the Overflowing Pail, inside they found a grim interior that was in the process of being livened up by a minstrel who was telling tales from his homeland, of the loves and losses of fey creatures which fascinated Tripp immediately. Sitting and listening to the bard tell his tales all night, Tripp had forgotten to take any notes on the stories, and it seems the good man has remembered them all off by heart rather than having them at hand to read off. Deciding to try and follow the man and see if he would tell the stories again, he resolved to introduce himself and try and become the good fellow’s friend, which worked out great. Luchtaine and Tripp became fast friends with their love of stories and good company. Blackhand’s Eye It was during the first night of Luchtaine having a now studiously listening audience in the form of Tripp that the call for volunteers for the raid on the cultist hideout came around the new pup they were in. Men swore oaths of vengeance as they drained the last of their pint glasses, warriors picked up old swords that hung on the walls and all were swept up in a wave of justifiable rage. Luchtaine heard these cries for retribution and took up the call, soon leading a small band of the pup’s patrons to back their words muttered over the tops of their lagers with action, with Tripp and Druza following along, Tripp eagerly informing Druza, and occasionally filling in Luchtaine, on the recent history of the dragon cult scourge. With a song Luchtaine referred to as a “rebel tune” echoing down the streets, though Tripp knew not what rebellion it was penned in, the small mob joined those that would attack the warehouse where the cult had been hiding out within the city. With a sound strategy being formulated by Blackhand Byron, the attack was launched on the warehouse and the fortified buildings around it. Soon after the raid started, Tripp lost track of Druza and Luchtaine, finding himself pushed forward surrounded by tallfolk all screaming and shouting. He heard what sounded like a bear bashing around and the sounds of discordant music trying to be heard over the banging of hammers against doors. Armed with his wand and dagger, Tripp was not afraid, though he could hear the stories his father would tell him of halflings getting into fights and so he tried to follow the advice he knew his father would give which would be to find a safe spot to cast into the growing melee. Ducking low behind a group of shouting warriors, he spotted a figure burping out clouds of poisonous gas that were stopping Byron and her men from entering the main warehouse further, cutting off others. The creature was a bullywug, and it belched out that it had learned from the great Pharblex Spattergoo, some powerful cult leader no doubt. Rushing forward, Tripp hurled a bolt of lighting at the creature, tethering the energy to his wand that he pulsed repeatedly into the disgusting bullywug, giving Byron and her forces enough time to enter the building unheeded by the poisonous cloud. With a sickening squelch, the bullywug’s eyes burst from the surging electric shock, Tripp retreating back to where he heard the music of Luchtaine. Along the way he managed to dispatch a cultist throwing burning oil down on those attempting to break down the door, knocking the man out with a few quick bursts of ''magic missile, though he quickly moved on when a half-orc came barreling down the street with a battering ram. He found the foreign bard close to where they had launched the attack, the Vilnian avoiding the slings and arrows of the cultists and their kobold allies. After some time, as Tripp wasn’t sure how long he’d been there, darting in and out of the melee to lend an occasional burst of arcane energy to those foes hidden behind barricades before retreating back to gather himself again, a cheer rose up among Byron’s mob that the last of them had surrendered. Still feeling the rush of battle, Tripp excitedly exclaimed that they had done it and they were heroes like King Hoff. The Dragon Queen's Cult Following the successful raid on the Cult hideout, Tripp joined with a number of others that had also distinguished themselves in the battle: Az Realta a half-dwarf psion, Charanko a human monk with strange mystical abilities, Druza his shapechanger companion, Borok a half-orc warrior, and Luchtaine the bard he had met earlier. Together they were tasked by Blackhand Byron to rout out the other remaining Cult centres of power in the city. They began with a dock belonging to the Federation that had been disused for some time. There Tripp came into conflict with a number of the group when he tried to take a magic timepiece when two of the others had promised the local constable they would leave all treasure behind. Tripp began to work towards establishing a company that he and the others would agree to a set of rules and beliefs, citing the incident with the time piece as an example of a person being forced into an agreement without any debate. This was met with much scepticism from the other members, with only Az firmly believing in the concept. With the new organisation incorporated as the Waterside Company, the group began a campaign working against the Cult of the Dragon, the company's structures slowly eroding as it's members left or expressed doubts about its secretary's structures. A Black Lake Following the trail of the Cult led the group into the sunken city of Shi-Meer-Jan, with Tripp's growing magical abilities allowing them to explore the underwater environment. There they encountered many strange things and Tripp's understanding of some of the darker aspects of the arcane grew as he found various magical relics and powerful wards. It was beneath the lake that the group faced the twisted version of the Librarian, the master of the library in the risen section of Shi-Meer-Jan claimed by the Cult of Allarcia. The abomination nearly slaying Az, Tripp realising he feared more for her safety than for the others in the group. The Mind of the Scrivener Luchtaine had long spoken of his desire to travel to "the swamp" where the "bad buzz" was, but the group did not travel there until after Tripp was visited in his dreams by the Librarian of Shi-Meer-Jan, the ancient creature speaking to him of its corrupted kin and of the Firstborn in what was now known as the Rimecost. Tripp launched the group's vessel without informing any on board, though the group quickly agreed that it was where they were going next anyway. In the Rimecost the group fought many of the Scrivener's followers and saw the impact his influence was having on the land, an influence that was spreading. There Tripp met with Dergsdotter, a researcher into the mysteries of the Meer, he challenged some of her perceptions but was reluctant to share information with her, though Charanko was less reluctant and even offered to take her to the sunken city once they were finished in the Rimecost. Fighting their way through the Scrivener's Fane, the group was presented with a man who claimed to be Jhaxi the Scrivener, though Tripp knew him to be a deceiver and unleashed an arcane fist of power, mirroring the stances and techniques of Charanko but condensed into a single hand of force that he used to crush the false Jhaxi to death. Finally the group stood before the real Jhaxi, Luchtaine stepping forward to explain that he was there to stop the spread of his power, Az and Madoc agreeing that this figure needed to be stopped. Tripp however offered another proposal, that they need not fight and they could depart as allies. Charanko was torn, as his primordial ancestry was manifesting as he drew closer to the child of one of the ancient entities. The Scrivener saw these intruders as his enemies, clearly as they had fought their way through his followers to reach him, but saw the potential to drive a wedge within the group, seeking to have the Tripp and Charanko turn against the others. In the end Tripp declared his loyalties lay with the group and stood beside Az, whilst Charanko stood aside as the group fought the eldritch creature and were it not for Az's vast psionic might the day might have been lost. As the Scrivener fell, his demense filled with dark inky water that threatened to entrap the group who fled the Rimecost and returned to Schwarzmeer. The Journey North As the Waterside Company elected to travel north towards Stovakor in order to begin the next contract they had accepted with Gurdrak, the group had learned of a figure that might be a valuable contact in getting into Stovakor, a vampire of the Stenlik dynasty. City of Laughing Demons In Sang Tripp was reunited with his mother Rosa the Finder, and with his companions they explored the city and uncovered a plot to undermine the Lord Protector by an underground demon cult. Delving into the past of Sang and the Church of the Three Tripp found remnants of the power that this cult once held and began to learn of the Abyss and the ability to bring demons into the material plane to act under his command. Confronting the leaders of this cult of Those that Seek Below, ''Tripp implemented his first application of ''Numinous Hubrica, the replication of divine magics through arcane means, using it against the cult and using the energy to keep his heart beating even after his body was struck down by the maralith blademistress of the cult. Returning to the chambers deep in the caverns below, the group encounter an entity worshiped by the fishmen beneath the city. Reaching out to touch the creature's mind Tripp sensed its desire to offer its power to Az or Madoc, understanding that this entity sought a vessel to grant its boon, Tripp elected to take on the responsibility himself. Drained from the experience, the group returned the exhausted Tripp to the keep where Az revived him and he resolved some issues with his mother before she set off to find his father. Numinous Hubrica After recovering in Sang, Tripp used his knowledge of the many teleportation sigils they had encountered on their journey to travel back to Scwarzmeer, and then on to Telinor where he presented his new proposal for his primary area of work: Numinous Hubrica. ''Tripp sought to turn his limited application of observation of divine and primordial entities in order to produce powerful magics based on their innate abilities. Palace of Nightmares Traveling to Stovakor under the guise of Permin Kurt Sheshk, a former apprentice of Franz Von Heffen, Tripp became acquainted with some of the powerful spellcasters that had been invited to attend the Amaranthine Ball. There he delved into the dungeon beneath the city and fought alongside his companions to reach the prison of the Last Scholar. Cliffs of Intrigue Following the expedition to Stovakor which led to Tripp learning much from Aureon's Library in Outland, the Waterside Company was tasked with the protection of the city of Osana, with Tripp's partner Az taking on the mantle of Sentinel of the city. During this time, Tripp was let in on a scheme with Gurdrak to remove a number of members of the Gifted and assert a greater degree of power for Az as the Sentinel. At Gurdrak's invitation, both he and Az joined the Unbidden. To Watch a God Die Following the successful defence of Osana from the forces of Tiamat, Nin asked Tripp to aid him in an expedition to Eschensil to free Sharim Hiral, one of the Champions of Bahamut. With Luchtaine as a guide the group was presented with choice by Gyoubu, the guardian of the Silver Tree, a fey crossing that allowed transport between the many fluctuating shards of the Feywild; give him a ring now, a child later, and a stone at death. Though torn by his desire to free his friend and Luchtaine's disgust at the prospect of trading a child's future for a stranger, Tripp offered a way to give the guardian a ring, a child, and a stone at death on Nin's behalf on the condition that Nin never try and stop him in whatever Tripp deemed necessary. Reluctantly, Nin accepted the offer and the group rescued the lost exarch and his companion. To achieve what he offered Nin, Triupp deterimined that he needed to see another exarch die to determine certain factors in breaking down barriers when it comes to the higher spheres of magic. The most obvious choice was the Wild Marshal, whom Luchtaine had already requested aid in defeating. During the preperation for another expedition into the Warring Woods, Tripp began an excavation project back in Rimecost at the Scriverner's Fane to recover as much ink as possible from the site to use in arcane rituals as well as recovering the body of the primordial son. With his preperations ready, along with the aid of some minor prophecies, Tripp facilitated the transportation of the group into the Warring Woods, right into the throneroom of the Wild Marshal where they managed to incapacitate him. Tripp, enraged by the brutal deaths of the people killed by the exarch channeled his stolen fragment of Highvale to burn the Wild Marshal to ash. As he did, Nin struck his arm to force him to stop the act, despite his agreement to not do such a thing he had made earlier, though this did not stop Tripp and Zelphyrous from delivering a combined final blow against the exarch, slaying him. In the Court of the Pearl Palace As a member of the Unbidden, Tripp was invited to the Pearl Palace in Lothindon where he advocated for the plan of Gurdrak to take direct action against the Dragon Queen's influence on Tolas as her realm began to bleed into the world. There it was revealed that unknown to the Hallowed Assault, Tripp had undertaken a scheme to carry out the deal Gurdrak had made with the Sekad necromancers to have an undead army delivered to them, though perhaps not wanting to know how, Lord Commander Darion Relthorne did not press how this was achieved. Also attending the event were representatives of the Janians, revealing that exposure to the amber weapons slowly erases memories eventually leaving the wielder an empty vessel to be occupied by one of the souls of the Janians still beneath the Meer. Appearance Tripp was 3'6" (with his hat), with sandy hair and pale skin that seldom saw much time in the sunlight as a bookish individual. When he left college to begin working on his thesis he wore red robes, as he continued his adventures he wore a set of robes adorned with the ever shifting firmament of the night's sky. After the Scrivener Following the encounter and defeat of Jhaxi the Scrivener, Tripp began to take on some of the aspects of the fallen spawn of Xhahon-dor his eyes shifting to an inky blackness when he called upon the powers he learned to see beyond the sight of normal vision. Taking some of the inky blood directly from the Scrivener, Tripp used the magic innate to the liquid to protect himself with a tattoo of a dark sky with a connection of firmament showing various runes and symbols used in the magic across his back, shoulders and down his arms. Relationships ''"I'm worried about what you're doing Tripp." "You should be." - exchange between Nin and Tripp During his travels Tripp encountered many different people, with some he developed close ties to. Companions A number of those Tripp met as he traveled he also fought alongside against various other adventurers. Az Realta The companion that Tripp traveled with the longest, Az Realta was an original member of the Waterside Company and captain of Wet! A Boat Story. A psion with powerful mental abilities, Tripp got along well with Az, and in particular he was greatly interested in her innate ability to bend fate. After a near death experience beneath the city of Sang, Tripp and Az entered into a romantic relationship. Druza des Volos Tripp and Druza traveled together for a few weeks on the way to Schwarzmeer, the old man seeking a guide to the civilised lands in the south. Like Az, Druza had some touch of fate about him, though when he knew Tripp that spark was dying and when the old man finally succumbed to the he bear spirit that he communed with, it vanished altogether. Charanko Tripp considered Charanko's abilities impressive, but unrefined and frankly dangerous prompting him to provide the human with limited instructions in the arcane arts. During the encounter with the Scrivener, Charanko was reluctant to fight the eldritch abomination, believing the creature to have answers to the questions he had just begun to ask himself. His lack of aid in the fight was a point of contention between him and the rest of the group, including Tripp. And again when Charanko acted against the party's decision to trade with the exiled nobles of Menrek, he showed himself to be at odds with the group, willing to use his powers to enforce his will rather than as a tool to help others. When Charanko left the group, Tripp contacted members of the College of Telinor informing them of the young man's potential and the danger he presented. Luchtaine Ailgheasach A bard of considerable skill, Luchtaine Ailgheasach was in many ways the opposite of Tripp, a creature of excess and pleasure, constantly seeking the approval of others through his talents at storytelling, performance, and apparent generosity. Often coming into conflict, the two men would reconcile their differences when it came down to the fight with the Scrivener when Tripp appeared to be diverging from the esoteric aim of Luchtaine to scour the land of the "bad buzz", ultimately however Tripp sided with the Company. Such loyalty was not shared by Luchtaine, who left the group to reap the rewards of his successful quest from his fey patron. Borok Silverhilt The half-orc warrior impressed Tripp with his durability and pursuit of his goal to find his father's killer. Borok expressed a reluctance to kill and showed Tripp that mercy can lead to inner peace, something Tripp himself struggled with. Officer Madoc Redler Another half-orc, the cleric of the Hallowed Assault joined the Waterside Company as they fought the last remnant of the Cult of the Dragon in Schwarzmeer. Like Borok, the legacy of Gruumsh allowed Madoc to take a beating and remain standing, though sometimes the enemies they faced were beyond even his resilience to withstand, but despite that he always made sure to protect the others, something Tripp greatly valued. Lord Commander Darion Relthorne The ogrillon half-breed self appointed commander of the destroyed Hallowed Assault met Tripp and the rest of the company in Schwarzmeer at a meeting with Gurdrak when he proposed an expedition to retrieve the body or essence of the remaining Scholar in the city of Stovakor. Due to the commander's paranoia and being driven by fear, the paladin was suspicious of Tripp and his understanding of the powers they were encountering. Darion abandoned the quest to save the trapped exarch after confronting Gurdrak and accusing him of being a traitor, with Az as a witness he was left alone in Telinor to reconcile with his brother. Nin Okar Okarthel For more on this character, see here. Nin, whose name means Little Stream of the House of Big House in the Place Where All the Houses Are, joined with the group when they reached Kurtland on their way to Sang, seeking sanctuary with Lord Commander Darion Relthorne. Alys Tripp learned to summon a familiar, a fiend that takes the form of a black cat speckled with white starbursts, learning from some of the earliest writings on the spell found in Aureon's Library. Family Though unusual in his family, Tripp was an only child, but had a large number of cousins and extended family that he grew up with in Heystone. Edregar Fastorin Shortmen XXIII Tripp's father, Edregar was born in Heystone the seventh of fourteen children. He was a storyteller in the town, and taught many lessons that had been passed on to him by his mother, Ma Shortmen. Rosa the Finder Tripp's mother, Rosa was born in a caravan of traveling merchant halflings that moved around Etan. An explorer by trade she seldom stays in one place for more than a year. Allies Trippilarrin made a number of allies in the course of his adventures. Gurdrak For more on this character, see here. The red dragon and former Duke of Drakenperch, exiled from his position due to his membership in the Unbidden. Tripp encountered him wounded from his fight with the Dragon Queen in desperate need of help. He later employed the Waterside Company to undertake a number of ventures. Gwethe Shafir An alchemist aboard Wet!, a student at Orn'Tel Imen who is completing their work placement with the Waterside company. Abilities "Impressive...almost...unnatural.." - ''Archdiviner ''Thir'duul on seeing a demonstrating of Tripp's elevation through the Spheres As a college educated wizard, Tripp was well learned in the arcane and had certain privileges as one devoted to the esoteric arts. He learned many spells in his travels and gained many abilities, the greatest of which was his ability to divine the future and twist fate to meet his own ends. Spellcraft During his travels Tripp learned by observing the magical abilities of other creatures, such as the breath weapon of a dragon, the enhanced speed of Charanko, the manipulation of air currents by Az, or the transformation abilities of Druza. Often he took an aspect of the other spellcaster's approach and expanded it to it's logical next step. One of the greatest influences on Tripp's magical abilities was the Scrivener, the eldritch entity held much arcane power that the young halfling was eager to learn. Following his encounter with the Scrivener Tripp developed a preference for using the infused ink that had been the Firstborn's blood in his spellcasting, allowing him to cast powerful spells beyond the spheres of magic he had thought possible. While Tripp learned best from observing fellow spellcasters and reading their notes, or by their approaches to magic, such his own pocket of extra-dimensional space. Tripp was also able to develop approaches to spells by observing those that prayed to gods and forces beyond the Veil to influence the world. Tripp learned a great many spells from the original texts held within Aureon's Library in Outland, copies of the first spells as they we created. Stolen Gifts During his travels Tripp encountered many strange creatures and from them he took powers and abilities beyond his mastery of the arcane. From the Scriverner he took the ability to alter his vision in a number of ways; allowing him to translate any language, see into the Ethereal Plane, to see invisible creatures hiding from sight, and to pierce darkness. Also from the Scrivener's followers Tripp learned their tattoo techniques, how to grant the boons of the Scrivener to other creatures by inking arcane runes into their flesh. During an expedition below Sang, Tripp encountered a manifestation of Dagon below the city, the avatar of the demon prince demanding someone receive it's boon as price for trespassing upon the site. Delving into the entities thoughts, Tripp realised it sought to empower Az or Madoc, potentially corrupting his companions. Deciding that he would stand in their place Tripp accepted the offer, and though he was severely weakened by the experience his boons from the Scrivener began to develop further, granting him more power to his spellcasting, though now the eye of the demon prince watches over him. Broken Barriers After Tripp witnessed the destruction of the Wild Marshal, he came to understand that certain incarneum barriers could be bypassed. Using this knowledge he began the process of creating a vessel for his soul should he perish.Category:Characters Category:Halfling Category:Etan Category:Telinor Category:Waterside Company